Puppy Pose is a wonderful heart-opening beginner yoga pose to help stretch the entire torso and release back pain and tension.

Puppy Pose (Anahatasana) is one that isn’t always taught in beginner yoga classes, and I’m not sure why. I credit this pose with teaching me how to finally do Downward-Facing Dog right! Until I learned this pose, I was never exactly sure what I was supposed to feel like in Down Dog – should I keep my legs bent, or straighten them even if that meant rounding my back? How straight should my arms be?

Puppy Pose cleared up the confusion, and I’ve loved the pose ever since! It’s a wonderful pose if you spend a lot of time in front of the computer and have tight upper back and shoulder muscles. It stretches the entire back, as well as the arms and shoulders, mobilizes the spine, and releases the front of the chest as well.

Puppy is great for relieving back pain, and it’s one that I do often whenever my back (either upper or lower) is bothering me.

Here is a quick video tutorial on Puppy Pose, from YogaGlo.com: